The One Object of Supreme Interest

But ever since Paul’s career of persecuting the followers of the crucified Nazarene had been cut short, he had never stopped glorying in the cross. He had received a revelation of the infinite love of God as revealed in the death of Christ. This had worked a marvelous transformation in his life, bringing all his plans and purposes into harmony with heaven. He knew by experience that when a sinner yields to the love of the Father as seen in the sacrifice of His Son, a change of heart takes place, and Christ becomes everything to the believer.ULe 91.8

From then on Paul devoted his life to trying to portray the love and power of the Crucified One. “I am a debtor,” he wrote, “both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise” (Romans 1:14). If his zeal ever weakened, one glance at the cross and the amazing love it revealed was enough to cause him to push ahead in the path of self-denial.ULe 92.1

See the apostle in the synagogue at Corinth, reasoning from the writings of Moses and the prophets and bringing his hearers right to the advent of the promised Messiah. Listen as he makes plain the work of the One who by sacrificing His own life was to make atonement for sin and then begin His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. The Messiah for whom Paul’s hearers had been longing had already come. His death was the fulfillment of all the sacrificial offerings. His ministry in the sanctuary in heaven was the great reality that cast its shadow backward and revealed the meaning of the ministry of the Jewish priesthood.ULe 92.2

From the Old Testament Scriptures Paul traced the ancestry of Jesus from Abraham through David, the royal psalmist. He read the testimony of the prophets concerning the character and work of the promised Messiah and showed that all these predictions had been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.ULe 92.3

Christ had come to offer salvation first of all to the nation that was looking for the Messiah’s coming, but that nation had rejected Him and had chosen another leader, whose reign would end in death. Only repentance could save the Jewish nation from the approaching ruin.ULe 92.4

Paul told the story of his own miraculous conversion. His listeners could not help but see that he loved the crucified and risen Savior with all his heart. They saw that his whole life was bound up with his Lord. Only those who were filled with the bitterest hatred could remain unmoved by his words.ULe 92.5